Arnold Schwarzenegger eyeing a run at Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat?

Thanks to the very bad, low, not-classy, sad ratings during his stint as host of "Celebrity Apprentice," Arnold Schwarzenegger suddenly finds himself with a lot of free time. He has a handful of movies in the pipeline, but nothing that sounds particularly Earth-shattering in terms of box office potential. So, if the rumors are true, he's turned his attention back to the political arena.

The Terminator star has set his beady, red, robotic eyes on Diane Feinstein's Senate seat. From the Politico:

The prospect of Schwarzenegger’s return to elected politics in a 2018 U.S. Senate run — possibly as an independent — is generating increasing buzz in state Republican circles, fueled by the former governor’s seeming ability to get under the skin of President Donald Trump on social media. The president’s caustic tweets about Schwarzenegger, the recent host of "Celebrity Apprentice," and their running feud has sparked talk that the intensely competitive Schwarzenegger — a seven-time Mr. Olympia world bodybuilding champ — may be interested in more than merely a verbal posedown with Trump.

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His entry into the 2018 Senate race — when Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein would be 85 years old and up for reelection — “would give Arnold the stage to jam Trump for the next 16 months,’’ according to one veteran GOP strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pretty much every news outlet which covers this story leans heavily on the "stick it to Trump" angle. I'm not so sure. If Arnie wants to "jam Trump," he can already do that via the media. The "Governator" is Hollywood royalty - a bit faded, perhaps, but still a major player. He can generate all the press he likes, and America's news outlets would love nothing more than fan the flames of a Trump/Schwarzenegger throw down. Sure, he's a guy with a big ego, and I have no trouble imagining he'd take some satisfaction if he could give Trump a headache, but I doubt that's the real motivation. The fact is that Schwarzenegger has always loved politics, and has talked about running for various offices ever since he first came to the United States. I'd be willing to bet that, if it was allowed, he would have made a White House bid by now. So, a Senate run isn't all that strange a move. ...And heck, if someone like Schwarzenegger - who's at least somewhat to the right of Feinstein - can take her seat away from the Dems? More power to him.